United Arab Emirates

From the Front Line: Dubai’s Labour Trap

Date: 16/09/2011 - 11:14

Dubai’s ‘economic miracle’ was built on the indentured labour of millions of Asian workers. While the oil-rich emirate’s economy is fast recovering from the global financial crisis, the plight of its migrant workers has scarcely improved. Nick Hunt reports.

Hidden faces of the Gulf miracle

Date: 07/06/2011 - 12:08

A new multimedia report uncovering the human cost of the huge migrant labour force in the Gulf States of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates is being launched today by the International Trade Union Confederation in Brussels.

The International Trade Union Confederation will be using the report to put pressure on FIFA and the Qatar 2022 World Cup, for which 12 stadiums are expected to be built over the next ten years.

Artists Boycott Abu Dhabi Guggenheim Over Migrant Workers' Rights

Date: 21/03/2011 - 13:45

There may be a few key art works missing from the Guggenheim's collection in Abu Dhabi. More than 130 artists have signed onto a petition boycotting the Guggenheim's new Saadiyat Island museum over alleged unfair working conditions for migrant workers building the project.

The petition the artists signed onto is based on data from a 2009 report written by the nonprofit organization Human Rights Watch.

Migration's middlemen: regulating recruitment agencies in the Philippines -UAE Corridor

Date: 06/06/2010 - 13:20

Private recruitment agencies manage much of the flow of the 200,000 Filipino workers who head to annually to the United Arab Emirates, which is the third-largest destination for Filipino migrants after the United States and Saudi Arabia.

While the recruitment agencies, which are located in the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates, provide critical services such as logistical support and information about visa policies and living and working conditions, some abuse their clients by charging exorbitant fees or violating basic human rights.

UN human rights chief notes changes under way in Gulf region, highlights key concerns

Date: 21/04/2010 - 09:20

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said Monday she believes there is an “encouraging level of governmental activity to improve human rights” in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States, especially in the area of economic and social rights, children’s rights and human trafficking, while also noting an array of continuing concerns about women’s rights, migration, statelessness, and freedom of expression, association and assembly.

Migration and the Gulf

Date: 11/03/2010 - 08:59

This collection of essays is the first of three volumes devoted to Migration and the Arab World. The 19 authors whose essays appear in this first volume address several salient questions: What are the sizes and characteristics of the non-national workforces of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries? Which “push” and “pull” factors have driven and continue to drive this phenomenon? What effects has labor migration had on the sending and receiving countries, and on the migrants themselves?

UN Special Rapporteur on racism/xenophobia concludes visit to the United Arab Emirates

Date: 08/10/2009 - 15:29

GENEVA (2 October 2009) -- The UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Mr. Githu Muigai (Kenya), will undertake a country visit to the United Arab Emirates from 4 October to 8 October 2009, at the invitation of the Government.

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